Joss Whedon Would Begrudgingly Take On a Netflix Series

We’re still actively awaiting whatever project brings Joss Whedon back to the limelight, but as Buffy the Vampire Slayer reaches a 20-year anniversary, it’s impossible to ignore how TV consumption has changed. If ever Joss plotted a TV return, streaming options like Netflix would leap at the chance, though the Avengers director says of the all-at-once model “I would not want to do it.”

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Whedon addressed the possibility of a TV return with today’s most accommodating outlets, that of the all-episodes streaming series like Netflix and Amazon. Whedon naturally prefers the spaced-out episodic model, noting even Dr. Horrible’s three acts were released in different installments, though he’s at least open to the possibility (read: money) of the new normal:

I would not want to do it. I would want people to come back every week and have the experience of watching something at the same time. We released Doctor Horrible in three acts. We did that, in part, because I grew up watching miniseries like Lonesome Dove. I loved event television. And as it was falling by the wayside, I thought, “Let’s do it on the internet!” Over the course of that week, the conversation about the show changed and changed. That was exciting to watch.

Obviously Netflix is turning out a ton of extraordinary stuff. And if they came to me and said, “Here’s all the money! Do the thing you love!” I’d say, “You could release it however you want. Bye.” But my preference is more old-school. Anything we can grab onto that makes something specific, a specific episode, it’s useful for the audience. And it’s useful for the writers, too. “This is what we’re talking about this week!” For you to have six, 10, 13 hours and not have a moment for people to breath and take away what we’ve done … to just go, “Oh, this is just part seven of 10,” it makes it amorphous emotionally. And I worry about that in our culture — the all-access all the time. Having said that, if that’s how people want it, I’d still work just as hard. I’ll adapt.